Draw
by Lazlo Pizazzlo
Summary: Amidst his misery and embarrassment, Hammer Bro. is flung into a strange world of paintings. Armed with a mystical pencil that brings his drawings to life, he must find three others to assist him in fighting against an evil force before time runs out. ::Discontinued::
1. Prologue: Bested Once More

Hammer Bro. focused as hard as he could. That target about ten feet in front of him was taunting him, he just knew it. As he raised his hammers parallel to each other, he squinted at the bulls-eye, his mind filled with the vision of perfection. His lessons were to focus, stay sturdy, and be light on your feet, and now was the chance to prove he could do that and so much more. He wanted to be the best minion ever for Bowser, even though the thought of going up against the famous Mario frightened him a little bit.

Hammer Bro. took a deep breath. He bent his knees and sprang up, shooting up into the air. The Koopa swiftly tossed the hammers directly in front of him, and they cut through the air as if they were knives themselves. In the next moment, he beheld the finishing result of his practice. They stuck to the target—a few inches above the bull's-eye. He grimaced as he landed, grumbling at what he saw was failure.

But as cheers rang out behind him, he turned and saw his peers jumping and applauding…for him. Hammer Bro. smiled. Though his performance wasn't to his own liking, at least he had impressed his peers by making it close to the center. He promised himself that he would try harder and practice more next time.

Suddenly, his ears were met with a chime.

_Swish…_

_BAM!_

Everyone's attention went to behind Hammer Bro., but he didn't dare to breathe in that direction. He knew what was occurring behind his back, and Hammer Bro. had no intention of looking at what he assumed was perfection behind him.

_The great Kamek strikes again. _Hammer Bro. growled sarcastically in his head, fighting the urge to strangle his enemy.

Kamek, a wizard-like Koopa, had always taken pride in downsizing Hammer Bro. to a speck when it came to anything. He could turn something simple into a competition, and win. Hammer Bro. and Kamek didn't like each other, to say the least; Hammer Bro. had something that Kamek just despised, but Hammer Bro. couldn't figure it out. He always saw himself as a plain old minion of Bowser, no more and no less, but Kamek seemed to always lock onto Hammer Bro. about something.

Simply out of his own curiosity, Hammer Bro. turned slightly, glancing over his shoulder. Unfortunately for him, the magical Koopa had blasted the other target with a direct bull's-eye hit. Kamek twirled his wand like a baton and blew the steam off of the top, tossing his blue hat behind him. All except Hammer Bro. ran over to Kamek, completely impressed with what he had done.

Adoration and compliments were thrown all around Kamek, who took it coolly. He was fully aware that Hammer Bro. was over in the corner, standing alone. He cherished the moment as he took pleasure from the helmeted Koopa's pain.

Hammer Bro. frowned; he wasn't too fond of someone taking his spotlight (only because he was rarely under it), let alone Kamek stealing it. Now Hammer Bro. didn't like considering Kamek an enemy, nor anyone for that matter, but he had to admit that the sorcerer certainly was not his friend.

Kamek smirked. "Now, now, everyone. I know you all think that was amazing, but it's untrue!" Kamek pointed to Hammer Bro., who blinked. "It was Hammer Bro.…that made it BETTER than amazing!!"

To Hammer Bro.'s dismay, everyone laughed; their attitude towards him had been so easily manipulated within mere seconds. But Hammer Bro. didn't show any signs of weakness. Instead, he gave Kamek a death glare.

"You watch it, you—"

"Work on your temper, Hammer Bro.! And work on your aim while you're at it!" Kamek teased. Hammer Bro. clenched his fists as he led everyone out of the room, now seriously considering admitting to himself that Kamek was indeed his enemy. Those two insults hurt, but he decided to try not to let it get to him too much.

"You'll rue today, Kamek. Just you wait; some extremely severely…bad things will happen to you later. I swear by all that is green and turtle-y!!" Hammer Bro. announced. His voice echoed throughout the room. He was alone. "…Never mind."

He decided that he should go back to his room anyway; combat practice was over, and after practice was just a time to relax for a bit.

Hammer Bro. exited the room after snagging his two hammers from the target, feeling a little down on himself. He wasn't THAT bad of a fighter, was he? No, Kamek always made things worse than what they were supposed to be. But doubt was starting to overflow him on his combat skills. A self-pep talk was in order, he thought as he walked down the hall. Those always helped his self-esteem, believe it or not.

The combating Koopa adjusted his green helmet as he exited the room and turned into a hall with a towering ceiling. Red carpet covered the dark and cracked tile on the floor, hiding the age that the castle held. Two Koopas were walking down the hall, talking amongst themselves, but quieted down as they heard Hammer Bro. talking.

"Okay, Hammer Bro., listen up. You're a good fighter and stuff. If Bowser had the chance, he'd look at you and say, 'Wow. I really like him. I like him a lot. In fact, I want to invite him to dinner, he is so awesome.'" Hammer Bro. told himself, pointing in the air and acting imperiously like Bowser. Seeing the two Koopas look strangely at him, he cleared his throat awkwardly and put his arm to his side.

"Hey, how's it going, guys?" Hammer Bro. swallowed nervously, trying to cover himself. He forced awkward laughter as the Koopas kept walking until they were out of his sight. "Awkward turtle much, no pun intended. But seriously, man, I think you're overreacting. Kamek's just a jerk. Jerky Kamek. Kamek Jerky; like Beef Jerky only jerkier."

Hammer Bro. realized he was getting off track with his pep-talk, so he stopped it before it started getting even weirder. Sighing, he looked up at the ceiling that was over twenty feet above him. He longed for the special attention that he deserved – more than what he got that day. Recognition, that was it. Or just a big shot at something so he could become a bigger person than Kamek.

"I could be a bigger, better, brighter, and...well, nicer star than Kamek. Like Mr. Mario – I mean, uh, Mario, only without overalls, a hat, or a moustache." Hammer Bro. continued, putting his hand to his chin. "Yeah, no facial hair. That would be really…weird."

As he walked along the halls, his footsteps echoed eerily as thunder crackled from outside the large windows. It was time for revenge…after some relaxation.


	2. 1: The Imperious Fall

Hammer Bro. scowled at the television screen as his hands moved vigorously around on the video game controller. He was on the last level of his favorite video game that he could never get to, but his character's power was starting to get low. However, if he simply held out for a few more moments, he would get a power-up and be home free.

"Come on, man, just a little farther! Oh, here comes the jump! Three, two, one…JU – awww…" His pressure on himself clouded his mind and suddenly, his character ran off the cliff. He groaned and fell backwards onto his sofa. Things were really never going well for him since Kamek destroyed his reputation the day before. It was giving him a nasty case of depression and pessimistic attitudes toward himself. Perhaps, even a bad luck streak…

"I need a soda…sugar might make things better." Hammer Bro. thought aloud as he got up. He went out of his room and started walking down the enormous hall, thinking about how he could ever get out of this self-confidence rut. If this continued on, his performance in combat might fail even more than usual; his hammers would eventually miss the target altogether if he didn't convince himself he was perfectly fine.

He sighed. Even his peers paid more attention to Kamek than him. Come to think of it, he didn't have any friends.

"If only I could just destroy him with my bare hands…" He trailed off into his imagination. "Heh…no, wait. That's mean and unmoral. What am I doing? Making death threats now?"

Despite his position in being a servant to Bowser, archenemy to Mario and quite possibly the most evil person ever, Hammer Bro. almost didn't want to go and fight against the good side. Being bad and mean just wasn't in his nature. Of course, he never showed that around Bowser when he made an appearance, but he kind of wanted out of his position. Hammer Bro. just wanted to live a calm and relaxing lifestyle, full of video games and soda.

As he was about to turn left to the cafeteria, he glanced to his right and came to a stop. It was an odd, small room, but Hammer Bro. didn't notice the room until now. The door was halfway open, sparking his curiosity. What was even stranger was the fact that it had _paintings_ in it; King Bowser hated art.

"Since when was this here??" Hammer Bro. thought aloud. He looked around, and as he saw no one watching, he cautiously entered the room. He shut the door in case someone would see him. Upon closer look, the paintings contained Bob-ombs, snowmen, mushrooms, Goombas, and other miscellaneous objects and creatures. They fascinated him.

Hammer Bro. blinked. He had no idea why these paintings were in here for, or how long they had been present. Perhaps the door had always been shut and he didn't know it. Maybe he was in an off-limits area. That left shivers down Hammer Bro.'s spine. Getting caught in an off-limits area meant bad things…very bad things.

But still, these paintings were so intriguing. It was almost as if they were alive. His curiosity got the best of him as he took a step closer to a painting with marching Bob-ombs.

"Hey…I know where this is from! It's from Peach's castle, one of the first attacks Bowser did on the Mushroom Kingdom!! They based a game off of the attack, it was so cool…even though Bowser lost…" Hammer Bro. realized. He looked at a sign mounted next to it. "'Doh…noot…tawtch'. Huh! It must be German!! That's so cool; it doesn't even look like an imported drawing! I wonder if it's oil on canvas…"

Hammer Bro. reached out to touch the picture, but suddenly his arm pierced through the painting, as if the piece was made of water.

"Wha—?!" He leaned forward too much and he started to fall inside. "Agh!! Whoa! WAIT!! HELP!!" Hammer Bro. fell into it head-first, unleashing a yell of fear and surprise. The artwork restored the area where the Koopa broke into automatically, and became motionless after a few seconds…

* * *

Hammer Bro. could only scream at the top of his lungs as he fell through a dark abyss of nothingness. He despised heights and feared the dark, but he also had no idea what was going on. Soon, he could see a light below him, and he felt a spark of hope. Light meant good things…right?

"Wait! That saying! 'Don't go towards the light'…or was it 'go towards the light'? Darnit, I can't remember!! Of all the times to forget something so vital!"

As he fell towards the light, he could see that there was green blanket of grass covering the ground as well. The darkness soon left him, and he was blinded by sunlight and a bright sapphire blue sky. He laughed.

"I guess this isn't so bad…" He smiled, but he looked down and saw that he was advancing towards the ground at a faster and faster rate. Eyes widening and arms flailing, he started to cry out again for help, or perhaps a parachute.

"I'M GONNA DIE!!!" he shouted, unsure of how to position himself. Feet-first? Stomach-first? Back-first? Arms-first?

Before he could make a decision, Hammer Bro. fell flat on his face with a puff of dirt rising into the air. His body stung, as if he made a belly-flop into an empty pool.

"Oooh…somebody get me up, I think I exploded…"

* * *

"Bud, do you have any fours?"

"No way, Dub. Go fish." Bud shook his head. Dub groaned and drew another card from the deck.

Four Bob-omb Buddies sat under a tree, a deck of cards sitting in the middle of the circle. Each of the pink bombs held seven cards, but none of them looked very amused with their game. One was even asleep.

"Dee, gimme your sevens." Bud asked.

"…"

"Dee, do you have any sevens?" Bud repeated.

"…" Dee was motionless, eyes closed.

"DEE! WAKE UP!! I'm talking to you over here!!" Bud shouted. Dee jumped, realizing that he had dozed off a few moments before.

"WHOA, what?!"

"Do you have any sevens?!" Bud demanded.

"Dang! The prophesized one has not come!" Dee growled, handing Bud his seven of diamonds card. Bud happily took it and placed his own with it near the deck.

"Why do you always say that when you lose at cards?" the fourth asked, examining his cards. Dee looked at the fourth Buddy and scoffed.

"Have you ever noticed that the prophesized one hasn't come yet, Bob?" Dee asked.

"Yes, but that's because he's too busy doing better things than playing immature entertainment activities like 'Go Fish' and actually exercises his brain with reading organized and sophisticated script on parchment or stationary!" Bob exclaimed, setting his cards down and adjusting his glasses. Dee fell over, screaming.

"BIG WORDS HURT!! AGH!!"

"Don't exclaim modern electronic shorthand, for pity's sake!"

"The prophesized one HAS come!!" Dub exclaimed, standing up suddenly and throwing his cards down. Bob groaned.

"Please don't encourage Dee…oh, you have a pair of fours! I'm taking those."

"No, wait, I really mean it! Something fell from the sky! Just as the giant Lakitu had proclaimed many years ago!" Dub said. There was a long silence.

"…What are you talking about?"

"Just come on! Something exploded, fell, I don't know! We gotta go look before it flies away or something!" Dub yelled, running off. Everyone hesitantly followed, unsure of what in the world Dub was beginning to think of. But as the four pink bombs ran to where a dust cloud had formed, all stopped at the same time.

"You go." Bud said, shoving Dee ahead.

"I ain't goin', you go!" Dee shrieked and stumbled backwards. He kicked Dub forward.

"No way! Bob, you go! Don't sacrifice yourself in vain!" Dub yelped. Bob rolled his eyes and walked forward. The other three watched in horror as their companion walked over to see what had happened. Bob approached the crater slowly, less scared than the others combined.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

"Uuggh…"

Everyone jumped at the sound of the groaning. "POKE IT! Poke it and see if it's alive and squishy!!" Dee called from behind him.

"Shut up…I'm alive…but I'm not squishy!"

"Yeah, exactly, you're—WHAT?!" Dee screamed and fell on the ground, feeling as if he were about to faint with fright. Bob narrowed his eyes and looked at the hammer-wielding Koopa. Hammer Bro. slowly got up and stretched.

"Whoa…where am I and what the heck happened?" He asked, catching glimpse of the short pink bombs. It was then that Dee fainted. Hammer Bro., Bud, Dub, and Bob stared at the unconscious Bob-omb Buddy.

"This day can't get any weirder, can it? First, I lose at my stupid video game, then I find a gallery in Bowser's castle. So then I find a German imported painting, and I fall through it! Now, this pink round thing just died!"

"He actually fell unconscious." Bob corrected.

"Whatever!" Hammer Bro. crossed his arms. He did a double-take at his surroundings; bright green grass, bright blue sky, not-so-bright brown field to his left, and countless bridges. Not only these things appeared before his eyes, but a giant summit with a black dot on top stood in the distance.

"Wait a second…" Hammer Bro. whirled around. "This is that place! From that game that was based on Bowser's attack on Peach's castle!"

"…Huh?" Bud asked, looking up from fanning Dee.

"Bam Bat Fed, no—Battle Field, oh—Bob-omb Battle Field!" Hammer Bro. cried. His yell of realization rang throughout the entire course, echoing in the deepest ditches and erupting in the highest skies.

"Please don't scream like that." Dub narrowed his eyes. "But you are right; this is Bob-omb Battlefield. What of it? And who are you, turtle man?"

"Bob-omb Battlefield is from a game called 'Super Mario 64' that was made in honor of the great hero, Mario…oh wow! You guys must be those Bob-omb Buddies that set up cannons and stuff!" Hammer Bro. beamed. "Oh! Oh! Oh! This is SO cool!"

Hammer Bro. bent down to the four bombs' level, starting to poke Dub in the stomach. He winced every time he was poked hard.

"Cool! You guys are really real! And you actually say more than 'I will set up this cannon for you.'"

"Talk about repetition…" Bob muttered to Bud. "On three, we make a run for it. Start waking up Dee. One…" Bud began desperately fanning Dee, but his attempts were failing.

"My name is Hammer Bro. and I fell from the sk—oh…no."

"What's wrong?" Dub asked.

"That wasn't a German painting I fell through! That sign must've said 'do not touch' because it was taken from Peach's castle and stuff…" Hammer Bro. trailed off and kicked a nearby rock. "So I really am in the game." Dee slowly regained consciousness and sat up.

"Whoa…who is that?"

"That's Hammer Bro., Dee. He's not here to invade our land, he's here to help us." Bud said.

"Help you?? I never said I'd help you…but what did you need help with?"

There was an awkward silence that suddenly drifted over everyone. Hammer Bro. watched them all, unsure of what to do. Finally, Dub nudged Bob forward. Bob sighed, preparing himself for the long explanation that it would be.

"Well, you see, Hammer Bro., long ago when we were first assigned to be guides here in Bob-omb Battlefield, we were told of an evil force that would soon overtake this place and every other one for his or her own schemes." Bob explained. "None would be spared if this dangerous organization succeeded in conquering all the lands. The evil has yet to be named or decided if it was even real, but it's been said that this villain has scattered several Power Stars across various terrains so he could not be stopped."

"Is it worse than Bowser?" Hammer Bro. asked.

"Much, much worse. Every minion of King Bowser trembles at the thought of him; it's said that all creatures would unite in their fear and…run. Run far away." Bob frowned, adjusting his glasses. "However, there were often tales of a great, noble hero that would stop this villain. Such a person would fly imperiously from the sky and land here with glowing light and wields two artilleries. He would also be given another magical weapon to fight and save all life."

"Oh geez, lemme guess. This dude who flew imperiously from the sky is me, huh?" Hammer Bro. asked, highly doubtful of the situation. The four nodded hesitantly. "Yeah, well I got news for you. First of all, I'm not the bravest of all the people, okay? Second, I don't know about this evil guy; he sounds like he's got some anger management problems…maybe dyslexic or something, but he's definitely bluffing. Third, I'm not using some sort of magical fairy wand to stop this guy. And lastly, I didn't fly; I FELL!!"

"Well, one, it doesn't matter about your bravery! We never mentioned that." Dub replied.

"Two, he's not bluffing, and he's NOT dyslexic! You don't even know what that word means!" Bob said.

"Three, it's not a fairy wand! You wish." Dee exclaimed.

"Four, falling; flying, what's the DIFFERENCE?!" Bud yelled. "Besides, it was also decreed that this hero would find three others like him, so you would be finding some help along the way."

"Well, how can I trust you? You guys never told me your names…or do you even have names? In the game, you don't have names. You're just random little people who set up cannons and tell you how to fire them." Hammer Bro. argued. The four exchanged confused looks.

"Duh, we do have names; everyone has names, after all! Well, except that bridge." Bud laughed. Hammer Bro. looked at the bridge Bud was looking at. "And stop relating this to a game. It's not a game. This is real life."

"Even the trees have names?" Hammer Bro. asked, confused.

"Of course! This tree is named Treetonian III. That one over there is his cousin, Treetanian III," Bud said, motioning towards the tree they had been under while playing cards. "But that's beside the point. My name is Bud, and the person who fainted is Dee. The one you were poking is Dub, and Bob is the smartest of us all. He gave that really long monologue. We are the smartest of our kind, but we're just called 'The Bob-omb Buddies'."

"Wizards!" Dee added.

"Minus Dee. He's an average." Bud mumbled. "Less than average, actually."

"But really, we're called the 'Bob-omb Buddy WIZARDS'!!"

"Really?" Hammer Bro. asked.

"No." Dub muttered. "Dee just feels strongly about that." Dee began to make immature magical noises and started to run around. Hammer Bro. stared at him blankly, wondering how the Bob-omb Buddy managed to get in with this intelligent group.

"So will you help us?" Bud asked. Hammer Bro. frowned.

"I dunno…" Hammer Bro. crossed his arms, wishing he could say no and go home. The other three broke into puppy-dog eyes and pleaded all at once:

"Please??"

Hammer Bro. sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll think about it while I get the first Power Star for you. Will that make you stop looking at me like that?"

"YES!!" They all cried.

"WIZARD!!" Dee lunged at Hammer Bro. and knocked him down to the ground.

"OOF!"


	3. 2: Conquering the Summit

_Sorry for the long update...sorta got lazy and distracted. ;) You know how that is, right? XD _

_Hooray! We meet the reoccuring fly today! (He seems to be more of a hero than Hammer Bro. is in this chapter...) _

_Questions? Comments? No? Good. Enjoy, then!_

_-Laz_

* * *

**2-Conquering the Summit**

Hammer Bro. began to trudge up a hill, beginning to regret his decision to help those pink round things. Finding this Power Star might be impossible to find; he usually went by what the game guide said for how to get a Star, but obviously, as Bud had repeated earlier, this wasn't a game.

He stopped at the peak of the hill to examine his surroundings thoroughly. Perhaps if he could find a dark corner or something, it would unleash a terrible beast that would distract the Bob-omb Buddies and he could rip a hole out of their dimension and run like mad.

Perhaps he was just insane.

* * *

"Oh, goodness." Bob groaned, throwing his head against a tree in agony. Bud and Dub watched Hammer Bro. continue walking with confusion.

"He does know he's going the wrong way, right?" Dub asked. Bud threw his head against the tree with Bob.

"WE'RE DOOMED!"

"Just yell at him on three. One, two…"

* * *

"Okay, they didn't tell me where this thing was, but I'm sure I can—" Hammer Bro. thought aloud. He was interrupted by a shrill cry from behind him.

"**YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!!**"

Hammer Bro. cringed. "Thanks, guys. You're a load of help." He said sarcastically as he turned around and went towards the foursome. "You guys didn't tell me which way to even go! How do you know where it is??"

"Well, we were hoping your heroic powers would grant you the vision to seek out the Power Star without us saying anything in edgewise." Dub admitted. Hammer Bro. stared at them, dumbstruck.

"…'Heroic powers'?"

"Yeah."

Hammer Bro. buried his face in his hands, shaking his head slowly from side to side. These four were purely and totally insane in thinking that he was a great and majestic warrior from the heavens, but this was just getting ridiculous.

"Um…what if I don't have these heroic powers of which you speak of?" Hammer Bro. asked. The Bob-omb Buddies looked at Hammer Bro. in disbelief.

"You mean, you weren't granted them while you were dipped in that starry abyss years ago?" They all asked in unison, faces blank.

Hammer Bro. groaned loudly. "WHAT KIND OF SODA ARE YOU DRINKING?! I was never dipped in a starry whats-ama-whozit years ago!! Just tell me where the freaking Star is so I can get on with my freaking life!!"

"Some say it has been sunk in the deepest pool and can never be found," Dee explained. "But some also say that this Power Star is particularly invisible."

Bob turned to Dee, eyes narrowed. "'Particularly invisible'?" He repeated.

"Don't interrupt. Others claim they've seen it sprinting far away into the sun."

"No, they haven't." Bud denied, shaking his head.

"Yeah, they said the Star was sprinting far away into the MOON, not the sun." Dub corrected. Dee nodded, trailing off into random thoughts. "Anyhow, it's most commonly believed that the Star is perched high on that summit. Waaay over there."

Hammer Bro. squinted and shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked in the distance. There was a tall summit, sure, with several levels, but a black dot was on top of it.

"What's that thing?"

"Oh, him?"

"Great. So even the dots have names."

"No, no, that's Big Bob-omb. He's affiliated with King Bowser and the Koopas, but he's still kinda mean…" Dub frowned. Hammer Bro. cheered in his head; if this guy was partnered up with Bowser and the Koopas in this place, maybe he could convince he himself was an ally to get the Star for Bowser without putting up a fight.

"He's up there, huh?" Hammer Bro. looked back at the summit. All nodded. "Dang. So when do I get my fairy wand?"

"You'll get your NOT-fairy-wand after you get us this Power Star. Go on that way, there's no time to waste!" Bob said, kicking Hammer Bro. in the shins. He yelped out with pain and dashed off.

"Bob, why did you kick his shins like that?" Bud asked.

"Motivation. PHYSICAL motivation."

* * *

Hammer Bro. walked up a wooden bridge, but as soon as he got off of it, it collapsed. After staring for a few moments, he started off, in no hurry, of course. Taking his time was probably the best bet; he never knew if something was going to come out and hit him or something. Hammer Bro. started to hear the noises of barking ahead of him.

_What could that—_

Suddenly, a massive black ball lunged for Hammer Bro., who screamed at the top of his lungs and fell backwards. He covered his eyes, waiting for his head to be ripped off, but nothing occurred. He peeked from behind his hands and saw the black thing a few feet in front of him, teeth gnashing and eyes fierce.

"What's your—GAH!!" The ball lunged for him again, making Hammer Bro. flinch. The minion of Bowser peered around the black ball and saw it was on a chain attached to a wooden stake. He sighed in relief and got up to his feet.

_It's just a Chain Chomp, but holy cow, this is not gonna be easy. _Hammer Bro. thought, wincing.

"Okay, Mr. CC. I know that you know you can't get me from there. Even though you're hungry, I'm not your turtle for turtle soup, okay?!" Hammer Bro. shouted at the Chain Chomp, who had no idea what he was saying. Hammer Bro. began to slowly walk along the pathway in front of the Chain Chomp. "So I'm just gonna walk slowly over here, and…"

The Chain Chomp snapped his jaw at Hammer Bro., nearly getting his arm. Hammer Bro. landed on his tail, scooted backwards, and crossed his arms, trying to think of a solution. He could always risk jumping off the ledge and breaking a few bones, opening a secret gate, and get swarmed by suicidal Bob-ombs, but then again…

_**Buzzzz…**_

Hammer Bro. looked up to see a fly buzzing in his face. He suddenly got an idea; if he distracted the Chain Chomp with a fly, he might be able to sprint past this monster. He clapped his hands and captured the fly.

"Good work, my cricket, now LET ME GO!!" The fly shouted inside. Hammer Bro. scowled.

"I'm not training for karate or something, you jerk. Shut up and fly around this guy, for me, will ya?"

"Got it. 'Fly around this guy'…wait, WHAT??"

Hammer Bro. ran toward the Chain Chomp, jumped into the air, and let go of the fly. Just as he had hoped, the fly distracted the Chain Chomp. Every move it made, the Chain Chomp's eyes would follow.

"FLY, FLY! FLY AWAY! BUT NOT REALLY!" Hammer Bro. cried, landing on the ground. He started to sprint like there was no tomorrow, and he suddenly felt something hit his shell. He flew into the air, landing face-first on another wooden bridge. The Chain Chomp just missed his head, his shell, for that matter, and now he was safe.

"Ahhh…" Hammer Bro. smirked. "You're a crazy beast, Hammer Bro."

But he started to feel as if he were sliding downward. He looked behind him, and his smirk faded into a fearful frown; the bridge was acting like a teeter-totter, and it was starting to dump him off of it! Fast action was needed in an instant, he knew that much.

Hammer Bro. desperately crawled as fast as he could up the ex-bridge, but as soon as he was on the other side, the bridge began to lean the other way. He jumped for the ledge above him and grabbed it. However, his legs soon left the bridge as it sank lower.

He growled in distress as it stopped, but it rose up to his feet once more until it was level with the ground. Hammer Bro. stepped off of it, frustrated.

"Remind me to blow that thing up after I get this freaking thing." Hammer Bro. narrowed his eyes. He dashed up a small flight of stairs and through a wide plain, finally entering an open gate. He groaned at the sight of two large black spheres rolling side to side in a pit. There was no way around them.

"Aw, man!!" He slapped his forehead with his hand in disbelief. As he glanced up, however, he saw a fairly steep hill before him. Perhaps there was a way around this after all…

* * *

Hammer Bro. groaned as he pulled himself up onto the top of the summit. He was covered with ash and soot, scratched here and there, but otherwise unharmed.

"Ugh, those pirate-ninja-Bob-ombs don't give up, do they…" Hammer Bro. fell over onto the green, soft grass and sighed. He would definitely go to sleep after this commotion was done.

"Incredible! You made it this far even without a mustache. I commend your courage." A booming voice laughed from behind Hammer Bro., who turned around and narrowed his eyes at the sight of an enormous Bob-omb with a bigger moustache and a crown atop his head. Hammer Bro. was obviously not moved by the sight one bit.

"Okay, what am I looking at?" He asked flatly.

"I'm the Big Bob-omb, baron of all blasting matter, king of ka-booms the world over!" Big Bob-omb cried. Hammer Bro. rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, and I'm Hammer Bro., the chosen one that has landed on this terrain in heavenly light," The armed Koopa replied.

"Be that as it may, I can't just give you my precious Power Star. You must defeat me in battle if you want it!"

"Sure, yeah, but Bowser sent me for your Star thingy." Hammer Bro. convincingly lied. There was a long pause.

"So?"

"…Can I have it?"

"…" Big Bob-omb looked down at Hammer Bro., who looked away awkwardly.

"…"

"You're very short, aren't you?"

Hammer Bro. glared at him. "Just gimme the star!!"

Big Bob-omb kicked Hammer Bro. like a soccer ball across the summit. Unfortunately, he landed on his back and struggled to get up and off his shell. As he wiggled around pitifully, Big Bob-omb stomped over, ready to crush our small hero.

"I'll never let you have it!!"

_**Buzzz… **_

Hammer Bro. realized that the fly he had sacrificed earlier was floating in his face, looking outraged and angry at him.

"You…! You horrible…FLY KILLER!!" The fly screamed. Hammer Bro. gulped as he saw Big Bob-omb's giant yellow foot about to squish him like a bug. He looked at his adversary, then the fly, then the giant Bob-omb again.

Finally, Hammer Bro. blew on the fly, and as the bug made contact with the king's shoe, he went crashing to the ground. The tremor that followed bumped Hammer Bro. to his feet.

"Fine, fine! You win! Take the Star!" And Big Bob-omb disappeared in a puff of ivory smoke. The Power Star rose from the ground and floated before the now-hero. Hammer Bro. blinked at the sight.

"That was both anti-climactic and physically impossible, but as long as I get it, I won't question it." Hammer Bro. reached for the Star, but in doing so, it nearly blinded him.

"GAH!! STUPID STAR!!" Hammer Bro. shielded his eyes as he snagged the powerful item. The Star stopped glowing as he took it. "Okay, let's get you over to those Bob-omb Buddy Wizards or whatever…"


	4. 3: The Battle of Bob omb Battlefield

_Whoa, okay! Sorry for the really long wait, guys! AGAIN! Ugh, I need to get back in my groove here...but as soon as we meet more characters, things'll get more interesting. _

_Welcome **PSULucky**!! Our new reviewer loves Hammer Bro. and Super Mario 64 and also has a story up and running, so go check it out if you have the time!_

_Kinda short chapter. :3 I hope you guys like it; I'll start on 4 soon!_

_-Laz_

* * *

**3-The Battle of Bob-omb Battlefield**

Hammer Bro. jumped off the so-called "bridge" and down the path towards the four Bob-omb Buddies that were sitting beneath Treetonian III. He was now exhausted, for he had "fought" Big Bob-omb, almost got his head torn off by a Chain Chomp, journeyed down the countless levels of the summit, slid down the steep hill, and walked across the plain as all Bob-ombs stared after him in awe; all for a pathetic little star.

And if this much effort had to be put into just one, he didn't want to think about what it would take for the rest of them, however many or little there were.

The Bob-omb Buddies looked up, surprised he had made it out alive. The hammer-wielding Koopa walked over and took out the item he had claimed recently, crossing his arms.

"Okay. Here's your Power Star; shipping and handling included, no trans fat, may contain peanut oil; sorry, no COD's." Hammer Bro. scoffed, wiping the soot still on his arms, shell, legs, and face.

"You…got it?? From the—" Bud started.

"Yep, I did. Aside from almost being turned into that mad Chain Chomp's grub, being attacked by pirate-ninja-Bob-ombs, and nearly being squished like a pancake, I got it without any problems," Hammer Bro. growled sarcastically, taking off his green shoe and dumping out dirt and rocks from the trip. "That Big Bob-omb is a crazed loon, man. He's got problems. He was knocked over by a FLY. Who in the world would be knocked over by a flying, annoying, stupid, buzzing, INSECT?!"

"Apparently, you had fun, I see…" Bob narrowed his eyes, growing tired of Hammer Bro.'s complaints. Hammer Bro. stuck his shoe back on his foot and scowled.

"You don't know the HALF of it…" Hammer Bro. replied fiercely. "Me equals NO HERO. People out here now want to kill me cuz I was doing a chore for you guys. I stand on the same level here, man! NO ADVENTURE FOR ME. ADVENTURE NEEDS TO JUMP OFF CLIFF."

Dub shook his head. "You don't understand, Hammer Bro.! You truly helped us by giving us this token of power. You removed it from evil's clutches; now it can't dominate this land. You are one step closer in saving everything from destruction! If you leave now, you'll fail us all!"

"Bud, listen to me! This is so outta my league! I can't DO THIS!!" Hammer Bro. cried, digging his face in his hands, frustrated. "Stop thinking I'm some sort of Mario! I only play his games, I don't go out and save that crazy princess that can't tell what's an apple and what's an orange!"

"I'm not Bud! He's Bud!" Dub growled. Bud rolled his eyes.

"Whatever!" Hammer Bro. turned to Dee, hopeless. "Dee, please tell me you know what I'm feeling…"

"I know whatcha feeling, HB, but I'm not down with it, yo."

Hammer Bro. groaned in protest. "Why don't you guys get it?! It's harder than you think! I was almost MURDERED today, and let me tell you something, it's not a very fun experience. I don't wanna do this every day, guys, seriously!! As the great and imperious hero, I demand you send me home, right now!"

The wise Bob-omb Buddies looked at each other with hesitation. Hammer Bro. was their hero, so they dare not object him, but how could he be a hero if he went home?

Finally, Bob sighed and summoned a portal with the Power Star. A golden void appeared before Hammer Bro., awaiting him to step inside and return to his own world.

"There. If you wish to return to your home, step inside. But if you decide not to go, you can never go back. Choose wisely, Hammer Bro." Bob explained. Without the slightest pause, Hammer Bro. approached it and put one foot inside. Before he could do anything more, however, Dee stepped forward and nudged his shell.

"What?"

"Hammer Bro., for real. Don't leave us yet. You have to stay and protect us; there's more at stake than you think," Dee frowned. "Your teammates, who don't know that they're going to help you fight, are waiting in worlds that could blow to pieces any second…and we can't do anything. Look at us, man, we don't have any arms! How are we supposed to save everyone?"

Hammer Bro. was taken aback by Dee's plea. This random, crazy, wizard-wannabe Bob-omb Buddy had just begged for him to stay and fight. It was so unlike him, so unexpected, that he turned around and second guessed himself.

As he looked at the guides, he saw faces of despair, anxiety, sadness, and concern. They really wanted him to stay, but he knew he couldn't; for one, he couldn't fight one bit, and for another reason, Bowser would go berserk if he found Hammer Bro. missing. And if he left the portal, he could never go back home.

"Please, Hammer Bro.," Bud pleaded. "Don't go. Not yet."

"…I—"

"**CHAIN CHOMP!!**" A sudden yelp was heard in the distance. Alarm rose in the air as loud barking and chains rattling split through the air; Dee and Bud went into a state of panic and began to run away. However, a large dust cloud was all that appeared.

Bob and Dub decided to step forward slowly and cautiously, observing every noise around them to see if it was a simple joke or it was real. Hammer Bro. remained where he was; this might be his only chance to escape without disruption.

There was a long silence, only increasing the tension in the area. Suddenly, a chain whipped out from the cloud and smote Dub and Bob. They flew backwards and landed on their backs next to Hammer Bro. They appeared unconscious.

Hammer Bro. cringed as he saw the innocent Bob-omb Buddies before him. They had no defense or hope…except him.

He looked up at the monster that bounced through the cloud and gulped; if he left now, this place would surely be torn apart by this crazy thing, along with Dee and the rest of the Bob-omb Buddies.

The hero decided to take his foot out of the portal. He stepped away from it as it vanished into thin air. Smirking, he took out his trusty hammers from his shell, pointed them at the Chain Chomp, and said:

"I think it's time for you to meet my hammers."

Just as he had been taught in combat, he jumped up into the air, aimed at his target, and tossed the hammers at the Chain Chomp. As they made impact, they bounced off and landed back into his hands. Hammer Bro. landed happily as the Chain Chomp appeared dazed.

He took this chance to run away, knowing the Chain Chomp wasn't all too happy with him one bit. Hammer Bro. dashed up the hill to his right, towards Bud and Dee, but took a sharp left and stood where the Chain Chomp first was pinned down. But he discovered something out of place:

The stake that was there was now missing; someone had freed the monster to attack the Bob-omb Buddies, or maybe even Hammer Bro.

He heard strong and steady thumps, like a loud heartbeat, and realized that the Chain Chomp was running for him. Swallowing, he gripped his hammers tight. He wasn't given these for nothing, and now it was time to prove it.

He turned around and backed up, waiting for his enemy to come for him.

_Dangerous, DANGEROUS, __**DANGEROUS!! **_Hammer Bro. screamed in his head as the Chain Chomp gnashed his teeth at him. He tried to relax, but his hands shook and heart skipped so many beats, it made him more overwrought than he wanted.

He fired his hammers again, and it hit the Chain Chomp. However, they didn't reach Hammer Bro.'s hands fast enough, and as he leaned back to grab them, he fell backwards onto his shell.

"AGH!! BUD!! DEE!! Someone!! Help!!" Hammer Bro. wiggled around as he tried to get off of his shell. As no one came, he felt around himself to find some sort of weapon that would hold out, but felt a small dirt hill. It felt like a spot that something had been buried in, but what could be there?

He quickly dug his hand through the dirt and felt something…fuzzy?! Surely his sense of touch was out of whack; how could something be fuzzy at a time like this? Carefully, he squeezed it slightly.

_**Squeak! Squeak!**_

"…Wha?!" Hammer Bro. exclaimed. Looking back at the Chain Chomp, he noticed the creature wasn't acting very violent anymore. In fact, his eyes were wide and shining, as if a cute, innocent puppy dog replaced the ferocious beast. Hammer Bro. blinked.

He squeezed it again.

_**Squeeak!**_

Finally, unsure of whether it was a dying rodent or an accordion, he took it out and found it was a toy mushroom. He was in awe; could this be the reason why the Chain Chomp had been so aggressive?

"Y-you want this??" Hammer Bro. held it up to the Chain Chomp, whose eyes were glued to it. Panting, the dog-like monster hopped over to Hammer Bro. and gave him a huge kiss with a giant pink tongue.

"GAAAH!! GROSS! DOG SPIT!!" Hammer Bro. moaned, squirming around even more now. He suddenly felt his shell grabbed onto, and he was on his feet in a blink of an eye. The Chain Chomp stuck his tongue out, pleased that Hammer Bro. had his toy.

"Umm…fetch…?" He stammered, tossing the mushroom over towards Bud and Dee. The Chain Chomp dashed to get it, pounced on the squeak toy, and began to chew on it. Bud and Dee ran cautiously over to Hammer Bro., ready to see an arm on the ground or something crazy.

"Hammer Bro., are you alright?!" Bud exclaimed, checking every inch of Hammer Bro. for any slight wound or scrape. The victor took a big gulp of air, trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah, I'm okay…a little shook up and only coated with Chain Chomp saliva, but I'm not severely damaged." Hammer Bro. responded with a shrug. He pointed behind him at where the stake should have been. "Did any of you guys think it'd be funny to steal this dude's stake and bury his favorite toy?"

"Whaddya mean?" Dee asked.

"I mean that someone yanked out the Chain Chomp's pole and buried his squeaky mushroom, and it sure as heck wasn't me."

"Well, it wasn't me! I'm scared of that big thing!!" Bud shook his head, concerned that Hammer Bro. would mistrust him. Dee frowned.

"Same thing over here; he'd eat me first."

"Do you know if your friends Dub and Bob would?" Hammer Bro. gazed at the two unconscious Bob-ombs in the distance. The other two denied it quickly, noting of how cowardly their associates were. Hammer Bro., puzzled, put his hand to his chin.

"Then who could've done it?! If all the Bob-ombs fear this thing, then who—GYAAAG!!" Hammer Bro. was instantly given yet another slimy kiss by the Chain Chomp. He patted the monster's side as he wiped the goop off his face.

"Maybe it was a ghost." Dee said carefully, scared he would be the Chain Chomp's dinner in no time flat.

"Doubt it." Bud said, approaching the semi-ferocious beast slowly. He was treated the same way as Hammer Bro.; with a giant, fat, sticky lick. Bud almost went flying in the air, it was so powerful. "YUGH! GROSS!!"

Hammer Bro. looked over to his right and saw the wooden pole lying on its side, out of the hole. It was scorched at the top, as if a projectile hit it hard.

"That's weird…" Hammer Bro. muttered. As the dog-like creature barked in his ear, he knew what he had to do. "Let's put you back where you belong."

* * *

In a dark, cold room, two figures stood over a crystal glass ball. Hammer Bro.'s every movement was displayed before the two mysterious creatures, including the battle with the Chain Chomp.

"He's good, boss."

"...Gosh, Amp, you're right. He IS really good; maybe we should invite him over for tea and cookies and then try to persuade him that we're not the bad guys."

"Really?" Amp asked after a while. He was unsure if his commander's tone was sarcastic or serious.

"No, you idiot. He's only good because you buried the Chain Chomp's toy instead of annoying him."

"Oh. Well, you told me to annoy him. All dogs and dog-like creatures hate it when their toys are taken away from them." Amp moaned innocently.

"Yeah, shut up." The boss muttered. "Wake up the Cheep Cheeps, Sushis, and the Unagi in Jolly Roger Bay. We need to get rid of this pest before he gets any farther along than we do; we don't have any power to get out of this land, after all."

"How do you know he's going to Jolly Roger Bay? He'd be skipping a land--and a teammate!" Amp exclaimed.

"Judging by Hammer Bro.'s actions, he's bound to want to go for a swim. Now, **wake them up**."

"Okay..." The silver electric ball sighed, floating away. As his minion did this, the figure shrugged his shoulders to his neck and grinned evilly.

"Heh-heh. Heh. Heh. Heh. Heh."

"Just throwing it out there: that's the fourth time you've laughed like that, and when you do it, it's REALLY weird!!" Amp shouted from afar. The figure scowled and whirled around, fuming.

"HOW ABOUT YOU JUST DO YOUR JOB, YOU ANNOYING CREEP?!"

"Kay, alright, alright, I heard ya..."


	5. 4: Dee and the Mushroom

_Hooray! Fast update!! I just sat down and started working on it, and I was surprised to see it finished! :D It's shorter than usual, but if I continued on, it would be way too long and stuff, so ta-da! 1,487 words! XD_

_Just gonna throw it out there: there has been an ending change/edit to the last chapter, so I would appreciate it if all of you would go back and read the ending again! (Thank you, **Lugi2000** for reminding me of an ending I needed to have but forgot! XD) Every few chapters we'll be seeing Amp and the other mysterious person..._

_Sooo! This chapter explains the title of the story! I hope you like the mushroom part...I loved doing it. ;)_

_Enjoy!_

_-Laz_

* * *

**4-Dee and the Mushroom**

_**Chink!**_

The stake went in without a problem as Hammer Bro. punched it in with one of his hammers. The Chain Chomp was now back in its place, and after the battle, what was once a horrific monster was now a calm and obedient creature. Things were looking up after the dramatic commotion occurred.

The hero stepped back to see how the Chain Chomp looked. Upon doing this, Bud cleared his throat.

"So…I guess you're going to stay here and help?"

"Seeing my condition, I'd say: yeah." Hammer Bro. put his hands on his hips. The two beamed. "I mean, the portal vanished, so hey, I don't really have a choice."

The Bob-omb Buddies' expressions faded. Hammer Bro. smiled.

"But at the same time, I might wanna stick around and knock a few heads while I'm here." Hammer Bro. shrugged. The pink bombs grinned once more. "So, um, yeah, what about Dub and Bob? Are they…?"

"Those two are smart enough to put what they've learned into action," Bud said, walking down the hill to where the two were knocked backwards by the Chain Chomp. Dee followed, and Hammer Bro. ran after him after a bit of silence.

"What?"

"Bob-ombs and Bob-omb Buddies alike know a very good trick; especially if they don't have fuses, wind-up keys, or weapons." Bud explained. "When attacked, we have a tendency to…"

Dee walked over and kicked the two twice in the sides gently. Dub and Bob sat up instantly, catching their breath. They appeared to be unharmed as they rose to their feet.

"Play dead." Bud finished. Hammer Bro. blinked and let out a small "oh", hoping that none of his concern for the bombs had seeped out embarrassingly.

"I love doing it! Playing dead is funner than running away cuz you get to pretend you're asleep!" Dee spun around.

"More fun, Dee; 'funner' is not a word. Watch your grammar." Bob corrected. Dee groaned. "Hammer Bro., you should come with us to our headquarters. Since you're staying, we should probably get you started in finding more Power Stars and more teammates." Bob looked over to the east. Hammer Bro. saw a small fortress-like building over in a field in the distance.

"…When did THAT get there?!"

"Several years ago." Dub answered. Hammer Bro. looked at him with a face of bother. "That was a rhetorical question, wasn't it?"

"Yeah."

* * *

As soon as the dark wooden door was unlocked and opened, Hammer Bro. was surprised to see how much bigger the little fortress was on the inside. There was a long hallway paved with brick stone, but several doors outlined it. He had never seen so many doors opposite of each other before!

"Okay, to your right is where you'll be sleeping, to your left is a closet. Directly ahead is our room." Bob explained, as if he were a tour guide. "Everywhere else are rooms that don't really matter to you; the kitchen, the living room, the library where I spend my time in, et cetera."

Dub shut the door behind them and locked it tightly. Dee scowled at Bob.

"The kitchen does so matter to Hammer Bro.!! He's just as hungry as I am!" Dee protested. Bob walked onward towards their room.

"I don't think you can wait for the next warrior, can you?"

"No, I can't! If what you say is true, then I can't wait for him to come! He and I will munch on snacks galore and share weird dreams…" Dee trailed off. Hammer Bro. inserted himself into their conversation.

"Who's the next warrior? I wanna know!"

"It's said that the next warrior is somewhat…random and insane, to put it in a neutral perspective." Bob said, stopping and facing Hammer Bro. "We can usually see what kind of personality traits or recognizable qualities they have, but we can't tell what species they are. For all we know, the warrior you find could be a Shy Guy, a Koopa, a Cheep Cheep, or even a Thwomp."

Hammer Bro. paused. "Wait, how DO I find the next dude, anyway??"

"By going in here." Bob opened the door next to him, and Hammer Bro. gasped. There were the exact paintings that were inside that room in Bowser's castle; all hung on a tan-colored wall. Below them a red rug lay spread out over black and white checkered tile. It looked just like a room in Peach's castle, Hammer Bro. realized.

"Whoa…" Hammer Bro. laughed, running in. "All these pictures are portals to different worlds?? So they're paintings within a painting? That is SO cool!"

"Well, it's a long story of how we got them, but Dub decorated this room with all he had." Bud commented. Hammer Bro. touched the frame of one that appeared to have a ship painted on it.

"This is Jolly Roger Bay…oh, BEAST! I can't believe you guys have these! Wow!" Hammer Bro. continued to marvel over the pictures, but while doing this, Bob disappeared out of the room.

"Aren't you glad you stayed?" Dub smiled.

"You kidding me?? I'm ecstatic I stayed! I'll be just like Mario; out to save the day from evil jerks who want to step on things! I'll be—" Hammer Bro. was interrupted when he felt something hit his shoe. He looked down and saw a giant red pencil at his feet. He picked it up and narrowed his eyes.

"What's this? Am I supposed to write a novel or something?"

"Try drawing something, anything." Bob urged, eager to see Hammer Bro.'s reaction to what he brought back. Hammer Bro. looked at the pencil, and after a moment's hesitation, he sketched out a mushroom on the ground. As he lifted his pencil, red filled in the top of the mushroom, and white filled in the bottom, creating a full-color mushroom.

"…That was lame. What now?" Hammer Bro. asked.

"Easy. Dee, demonstrate." Bob called for his insane comrade, who leaped over the other three and landed next to Hammer Bro. Dee grabbed the mushroom and stuffed it in his mouth. Hammer Bro.'s eyes widened as he witnessed the vegetable be consumed. After Dee swallowed, he let out a big sigh.

"Yum."

"…**You **_**ate**_** my mushroom!!**" Hammer Bro. yelled.

"You better believe it." Dee smirked. "You know WHY I ate it?"

"…**You **_**ate**_** my mushroom!!**" Hammer Bro. screamed.

"I'll tell ya why! That pencil you're holding there is MAGICAL!" Dee beamed, emphasizing dramatically on the word "magical". "Everything you draw with that pencil comes to life."

"…**You **_**ate**_** my mushroom!!**" Hammer Bro. cried.

"It's a big-time responsibility, though; you never know what'll happen if it gets in the wrong hands." Dee suddenly burped. "'Scuse me."

"…**You **_**ate**_** my mushroom!!**" Hammer Bro. yelped. Bud hit him on the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Did you catch any of that? You know, magical pencil, big responsibility, everything you draw comes to life?" Bud growled. Hammer Bro. nodded, looking back at the large pencil.

"So this is my weapon?" Hammer Bro. asked. "No fairy dust?"

"No."

"Good. I'm hostile to anything that's sparkly." Hammer Bro. frowned. He felt a little bit more protected with this utensil in his possession, but he still felt a little bit insecure. "This thing will bring anything I draw to life? How can it do that, anyway?"

"Don't question its power, Hammer Bro." Dub shook his head. "Anyhow, you better get on your way to finding that new teammate of yours. If you ever need to get out before you get a Power Star, just draw a door, and it'll lead you back here."

"Okay…" Hammer Bro. looked up at the first painting that illustrated a tall fortress with water surrounding it. There was nothing but sky surrounding the entire land, though. Whomp's Fortress, he knew that.

"It's crucial that you find your teammates in order, because if you don't there'll be trouble…" Bob's words began to fade out as Hammer Bro. looked at the second painting with the ship. He had always loved Jolly Roger Bay, and he could really use some water right then…

"…Okay, Hammer Bro.? So, just go to Whomp's Fortress and you'll be good." Bob nodded. There was silence. "…He went into the second painting, didn't he?"

"Yeah." Bud replied.

"Shoot. He's about to meet a mute squid and has no one to gain support from." Bob muttered, terrified that his plans of perfection were about to run haywire.

"He's screwed!" Dee exclaimed happily.

"Yes, Dee, he IS screwed." Dub agreed. "Hammer Bro. is very screwed."


	6. 5: The Mysterious Mute Mollusk

_Yay! I managed to squeeze in time to write a chapter. With my parents' 21st anniversary yesterday, they're doin something special today and I had to make a present (ahem, a drawing...) for them. I was busy. XD_

_Blooper!! He's gonna get fans, I know it!! :D_

_Enjoy, please. I worked forever on it!!_

_-Laz_

* * *

**5-The Mysterious Mute Mollusk **

Hammer Bro. landed swiftly on the sandy beach of Jolly Roger Bay. This time, the fall wasn't that bad since he knew what to expect from last time. He gazed at his surroundings, and he knew they familiar to him: a crystal blue sea surrounded by stone, rock platforms here and there, and three tall spikes in the middle of the water. An old pirate ship was swaying back and forth on the horizon. There was no sun out; it was blocked by gray clouds.

The sight made Hammer Bro.'s spirit lift, but also made his heart sink. Though Jolly Roger Bay was a very memorable place, there were numerous places that a Power Star could hide in; the bottom of the sea, inside a clam shell, behind seaweed, in the Unagi's cave (hopefully not), or in the secret cavern underneath the surface. He would have to look his hardest to find it.

But what was more important, he knew, was to find the second teammate. Now where in the world would HE be?!

"Hello?! Anyone here??" Hammer Bro. cried out. His voice echoed throughout the land, but no voice returned it. Maybe his second teammate wasn't here after all; he'd have to search for this Star on his own.

So, Hammer Bro. started off into the water carefully, pencil in hand. When the blue water was up to his tail, he shivered. He knew that if it went any higher, he'd flip over onto his back and float helplessly around. He'd be a sitting duck for the Unagi, the giant, monstrous eel of Jolly Roger Bay, to eat.

Then, Hammer Bro. began to hear splashing. He gulped and ran out of the water, waiting for rabid Cheep-Cheeps to come after him. He scrambled up to the sand, heart racing, and he turned around. There was nothing there on the shoreline.

"This is just like that movie "Fins"," Hammer Bro. thought aloud. "The innocent bystander begins to walk into a small lake, and then he feels something nudge against his foot. He gets out of the water, but he goes back in. The STUPID innocent bystander gets sucked into a whirlpool and is gets gobbled up by all the sea creatures! Then they throw the guy's bones back up at the shore to leave as a clue, and when the tourists come, they scream, 'oh, the poor dude didn't stand a chance!'

"Well, I'm not going back in there, whatever is in there! So take that and eat it!!" Hammer Bro. mocked. "…But not really, seriously. Don't eat me."

After waiting a while, Hammer Bro. crawled to the edge of the beach and looked into the water. Nothing appeared to be in there waiting for him. But then, Hammer Bro. heard splashes again, but they sounded louder than last time. He let out a cry and scrambled backwards.

"QUIT IT!!" Hammer Bro. yelled, hoping that whoever was making the splashes would obey his command. Silence, then more splashes. Hammer Bro. growled at the water, stuck his hand in it, swatted it around, and took it back out. "HOW DO YA LIKE THEM APPLES?!"

Suddenly, something caught Hammer Bro.'s eye in the air. A white blur emerged from the water, and dove back in again. Hammer Bro. gasped, startled. He couldn't tell if it was hunting something, or being hunted.

"Hey!! Hey!!" Hammer Bro. yelled. He wanted to see the white thing again, just to make sure it wasn't coming for him. To his luck, the white creature sprang up out of the water, and kept its head out into the air. It was swimming fast, Hammer Bro. could tell, but he wasn't looking hungry; he was looking scared.

Hammer Bro. waved his arms in the air to grab the attention of the animal. "Yo! Over here, dude! Come over here!!"

Then, behind the distressed creature, a navy blue fin broke the surface of the water and the head and body followed. It was a Sushi, a ferocious shark that wouldn't hesitate to go after any moving thing.

Hammer Bro. watched in horror as the white aquatic being flew into the air, just barely avoiding impact. But in mid-air, Hammer Bro. realized that the animal was a white squid; a Blooper, in fact. It was small, but not a Baby Blooper. Hammer Bro. knew he had to do something fast, but what could he do?? He couldn't swim!

Then it hit him: the pencil.

"Okay, magical pencil, do your stuff…!"

He grabbed the magic pencil and began to quickly draw various lines connected to each other, and the pencil recognized it to be a boat. Brown color filled in the space, and Hammer Bro. threw the utensil into the boat. He started to shove it in the water and hopped in.

After drawing an oar, Hammer Bro. began to paddle furiously to where he last saw the commotion occur.

The Blooper jumped into the air to Hammer Bro.'s far left, and the hero quickly made his way to the spot. He looked into the deep water and found the Sushi chasing the squid in a small circle.

The hammer-savvy Koopa cringed; he decided to take a shot at losing one of his hands and reach down to grab the endangered Blooper. He stuck his hand into the water and grabbed something slick. He pulled it out, and to his dismay, it was the Sushi.

It growled at him like an angry wolf, and he screamed bloody murder as he threw the shark away in the distance towards the pirate ship. He leaned down and looked at the Blooper in the water, who, in turned, blinked in confusion.

"Hey, you okay?" Hammer Bro. asked loudly. The Blooper looked to his left and saw the Sushi headed straight for him once more. He looked up at Hammer Bro. and desperately pointed at the shark with two of his tentacles.

"Oh, yeah? You're a little shaken up? Ready to move on to new things?" Hammer Bro. said, nodding his head. He sat back in the boat and crossed his arms, sighing. "Same here. I'm supposed to find this new comrade guy so we can find this Power Star. I mean, come on! Who can do that?!"

The white squid swam towards the boat and attempted to push it aside as a barrier for himself, but because of his lack of strength, he couldn't manage to even tilt the thing slightly. Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted the Sushi gaining speed…

"So, it's blindingly bright. Doesn't mean it's easy to find, you know what I mean?" Hammer Bro. explained, not knowing the danger that was about to occur to the squid he saved. The Blooper pounded on the boat to get Hammer Bro.'s attention.

"You like the craftsmanship on this thing? Yeah, call me crazy, but this pencil made it a boat. I drew it." Hammer Bro. picked up the pencil and examined it a little more closely as the Blooper got its two tentacles on the edge of the boat to hoist itself up. He slipped and fell back into the water. Heart racing and tentacles a-flutter, the Blooper could only shield his eyes as the Sushi got dangerously close at a dangerously fast pace.

_**Sploosh.**_

The Blooper looked from underneath his tentacles and saw nothing headed towards him, just deep, blue water. Was this heaven for Bloopers and other aquatic creatures; just pure H20? So, the Sushi did get him…he was too late, and Hammer Bro. was, too. He had so many things he wished he could've done—

He suddenly felt a hand reach in and grab his other four tentacles. He was lifted (upside down) out of the water, and he felt a stinging sensation on his back as he landed inside the boat. The Blooper began to flop around desperately for water; if the Sushi didn't kill him, then the air sure would.

If only he could scream…!

* * *

"There. Some dead fish should hold that guy off for a while." Hammer Bro. smirked. "No offense, I mean. I guess you're not a fish, are you? You're a Blooper. Hey, what's—oh."

Hammer Bro. looked down at the squid and saw him flopping around in the boat, but it was becoming slower by the second. His eyes widened with fear as he scrambled around for the oar in his boat.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't die! Don't die yet!!" Hammer Bro. began to paddle desperately to the closest shore available. In his head, he had to admit, he really hoped he wasn't too late. "Just hang on, man. You seem like you know your way around here, so I don't wanna lose you yet…"

* * *

"Hey, boss!" Amp exclaimed suddenly, high voice echoing throughout the room. Amp's boss came in, slouched and tired.

"What do you want, Amp?! You woke me up from my nap…"

"L-look! He found him…" Amp trailed off, realizing that what he just said probably wasn't the best thing to say at the time. The commander gasped and looked into the crystal ball, watching in horror as Hammer Bro. and the Blooper in the boat hitting shore.

"That's impossible!! That stupid shark was supposed to kill them both!!" He cried, but soon, he sighed as he tried to relax. "Easy does it, man; he really actually found the third partner, so he couldn't possibly win, and besides, he can't find that Star…he WON'T find that Star…"

"Do you want me to fry everyone sunny-side up in Whomp's Fortress?"

"…What are you talking about, Amp?"

"You know, sunny-side up everyone?"

"…Did you mean 'scramble'?"

"Oh. Yeah, I did."

"Just go do your job."

* * *

As Hammer Bro.'s boat hit shore, he got out and drew a fish tank on the sand. He filled it with the water of the sea and put the Blooper inside. He stood back and waited for it to wake up, but as he saw nothing happen, he drew a bucket, filled it with water, and dumped it on the Blooper's head.

The Blooper woke up, shaking his head and looking around, deeply confused and unsure of what had just happened.

"Um, hey." Hammer Bro. waved slightly. The Blooper looked up at him and waved. "Ha ha, hi. Are you okay?"

The Blooper nodded.

"…Cool. What's your name?"

The Blooper looked as if he were talking, but as Hammer Bro. anticipated his voice to form words, all he heard was silence. The Blooper then pointed at Hammer Bro., looking at him happily.

"Uh, I'm Hammer Bro.…?" He said awkwardly. "Could you, uh, tell me your name again? I didn't quite catch it…"

The Blooper cocked his head sideways, as if to say he didn't understand why he didn't. Shrugging, the white squid looked for something to write with, and finally snatched Hammer Bro.'s pencil away from him. He wrote letters in the sand:

"_My name is Blooper."_

As Hammer Bro. read this, he smiled at Blooper and put out his hand to shake with Blooper. As Blooper put his tentacle out, and Hammer Bro. put his hand in it, they shook hands eagerly.

"Nice to meet you, Blooper. That's a pretty easy name to remember." Hammer Bro. smirked. Blooper nodded in agreement. Hammer Bro. attempted to let go, but the suction cups on Blooper's tentacle prevented it. Both began to pull apart from each other.

"If I could just—have my hand—" Hammer Bro. tugged on his arm and Blooper did the same until they came apart with a smacking noise. "—back!!"

Blooper rubbed his tentacle after coming apart. He looked up at Hammer Bro. as the combating Koopa crossed his arms.

"Maybe we should go back at talk to the Wizards…" Hammer Bro. muttered. Blooper looked at him like he was crazy. "Uh, they're a group of friendly guys that help people out. You can talk to them later." That doubting look only grew as Hammer Bro. drew a door on the stone wall next to them and it came into full color. "Come on, Blooper, let's go."

Blooper leaned against the fish tank to try to make it move, but it didn't budge one bit. He made a face of disapproval.

"Oh, right…" Hammer Bro. took the pencil, drew on four wheels on the tank, and stepped backwards. Blooper pushed against the fish tank and into the door successfully, and Hammer Bro. closed the door promptly.

When he turned around he saw a pitch-black hallway with a speck of light a ways away. Once again with the dark things; what was with paintings, anyways? No wonder Bowser hated art.

He felt tugs on his hand, and as he looked down, he could faintly see Blooper's scared eyes staring straight at him. Hammer Bro. cleared his throat; apparently Blooper didn't fancy the dark, either.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm pretty sure the Bob-omb Buddies are up ahead," Hammer Bro. smiled. Blooper grabbed the magic pencil from Hammer Bro.'s hands and began to sketch something out. Before the hero knew it, his eyes were met with an extremely bright light.

Hammer Bro. blinked several times and covered his eyes. "WHOA, OW. That hurt…that hurt a lot…"

He looked back down at Blooper, who was holding a lantern in one tentacle and the pencil in the other. His ebony eyes sparkled cleverly as he moved the lantern to the side of his head. Hammer Bro. smiled back.

"Gimme a warning next time, okay?"

Blooper nodded as he lifted the lantern and pointed forward.

"Amen. Let's go."


	7. 6: The Scatter

_Oh, wow. That was very torturing...DX I'm sorry for the really long update! Half of it was writer's block, and the other half was unmotivation; this is more of a filler chapter than it is a...well, not a filler chapter. Since the next one is much more important, it'll be easier to write, methinks._

_Sorry if this one is a little bland. It took a long long time to do, but if you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to let me know!!_

_Enjoy!_

_-Laz_

* * *

**6-The Scatter**

The two finally emerged from the dark hallway into the bright, blinding sun after walking for what seemed like an eternity. Hammer Bro. looked at the pencil, eyeing the eraser on the edge.

"I wonder…" Hammer Bro. took the pencil, flipped it over, and began to smudge the lantern with the eraser. In an instant, it was gone. "Ha! Cool. Okay, Blooper, let's go see the Bob-omb Buddies; I think they should meet you before we head back to get that Star."

Blooper pointed at the fortress, feeling a little intimidated. Hammer Bro. saw the Bob-omb Buddies' headquarters standing majestically before them, but it seemed like it was motionless, like all creatures had fled from it.

_Weird. _Hammer Bro. thought, thinking that they were just planning a surprise on him. However, when he turned around to see what was happening to the rest of the land, he saw it was desolate; the only thing that made noise was the wind blowing through the trees.

Blooper swallowed, feeling fear rush over him like a tornado; he wasn't exactly fond of being alone in such an unfamiliar place. The frightening images of various creatures sneaking up behind him and attacking him flashed through his head so fast it made him dizzy.

Hammer Bro. stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Hello?" Hammer Bro. shouted. It echoed throughout the field, indicating no presence of life. He growled.

"YO!! PEOPLE! GET OUT HERE NOW!!" Hammer Bro. cried. No reply. Blooper took the pencil and drew a coffee cup, in which it filled in with steaming dark brown coffee. Blooper picked it up and pretended to sip it.

"I'm not a coffee drinker," Hammer Bro. said, looking across the land to survey what might have happened. Blooper shook his head and drew a stick. He poked Hammer Bro. to get his attention. Hammer Bro. looked at him.

"What?"

Blooper pointed at the coffee cup.

"Coffee."

Blooper broke the stick in half.

"Stick."

Blooper shook his head.

"Twig."

The squid shook his head slowly. He put the two pieces of stick together and pulled them apart.

"Broke. Coffee broke. The coffee broke?" Hammer Bro. asked, confused. "Oh, wait! Coffee break! They're on a coffee break? I dunno, man…it's, like, two in the afternoon, I don't think coffee is good right now."

The duo looked at the fortress and winced. Something bad must have happened to Bob-omb Battlefield, and he wasn't sure if the Wizards survived or not. Taking a big gulp of air, Hammer Bro. put his hand on the doorknob to the small building.

"Let's go inside to check this out…" Hammer Bro. said. Blooper trembled with fear as the combating turtle shoved open the door. He watched it crashing down to the floor, stunned. "Either I don't know my own strength, or these guys have lousy security. Come on, Blooper!"

Hammer Bro. sprinted directly ahead towards the Bob-omb Buddies' room. He glanced over his shoulder at the painting room and noticed it was untouched, thankfully. He and Blooper entered a large room with four beds that were made up neatly with shelves full of comic books, encyclopedias, old maps, and miscellaneous action figures that probably belonged to Dee.

"Hey!" Hammer Bro. suddenly exclaimed, running over to the shelves and peered in them. He gasped and yanked a comic book out from underneath a fairly large stack, eyes shining with complete bliss. "This is the first issue of 'Super Koopa Chronicles X: The End of the Beginning'!! Mint condition, too!!"

As Hammer Bro. marveled over the comic books and other collectibles, Blooper observed Bob's book collection. He finally saw one entitled _Fugo alla Scantinato_ and pulled it out, curious as to what it said. As he attempted to open the book, he found that the book was completely solid; it wouldn't open up.

Suddenly, the floor shook and Hammer Bro. whirled around, horrified if they were under attack. Instead, a blank wall next to Blooper lifted to reveal a door. Hammer Bro. ran over, confused as to how it happened.

"Did you do that?" Hammer Bro. asked. Blooper shrugged and held out the book to him. "What's this say? Looks like…uh…Russian, I think."

"Quite wrong, Hammer Bro. It's actually modern Italian,"

"Oh, okay. Tha—wait, what?!" Hammer Bro. glanced up from the block of text and saw Bob and Dub coming out from behind the door. He sighed in relief. "Dude, don't scare me like that."

"Sorry," Bob smiled earnestly. He glanced over at Blooper and paused. "I see you brought a new teammate along with your Power Star…?" His thought trailed into a question as he saw no Star in his hand.

"Uh, yeah…about that…" Hammer Bro. stammered. "I found Blooper here, but didn't find the Star. I thought I'd be better off with introducing him to you beforehand."

Bob raised an eyebrow. Hammer Bro. leaned over to him.

"He's mute, so I was kinda feeling…well, awkward, to say the least." He whispered, trying not to hurt Blooper's feelings. Bob sighed, aggravated.

"That's why you do what we tell you:" Bob shook his head with pity. "Enter the courses in the order they appear in. It honestly helps when someone is there to help you, well, translate a little better."

"You didn't tell me anything!!"

"We did, too! You were too dazed to listen!!" Dub growled. Hammer Bro. rolled his eyes, still denying that anything was said to inform him.

"Is it safe?" A whimpering voice moaned from behind the two Bob-ombs.

"I'm trying to convince him that it's okay, but he won't listen." Another voice that was recognized as Bud muttered. Dub turned around and walked back in the door, and the sound of small feet climbing steps gradually grew louder until Dub, Bud, and Dee came out.

"Wait, whaddya mean by 'is it safe'?" Hammer Bro. asked. "Did something happen or were you guys playing hide-and-seek?"

"We aren't sure what happened," Bud piped up. "It was just after you left that we heard someone screaming over towards the summit. We went outside to see what was happening, and we saw that there were several Bob-ombs and Goombas running around, and in an instant, there was an explosion. We ran inside and got in the basement, cuz you know, there's nothing we could do."

"'Basement', huh? Looks like you guys left out something in that fancy little tour you gave me." Hammer Bro. crossed his arms. Three of the four Bob-omb Buddies grinned nervously. The other one, Dee, was over looking at Blooper like he was an alien.

Blooper blinked as Dee began to assess his appearance, as if to say "what are you doing and why?"

"He looks all squishy-like!!" Dee laughed. Blooper gave him a strange look. Dee caught a sight of the book that Blooper was holding and grabbed it. "What's this, anyway? Oh, yeah! I remember this!! It's Russian, right?"

Everyone stared at him with annoyance. Blooper took hold of the pencil and drew a plate of spaghetti. He picked up the plate and slammed it into Dee's face. The plate fell to the floor, but all the spaghetti stuck to Dee's face.

"Italian." Everyone mumbled.

"What's it mean, anyway?" Hammer Bro. asked.

"It means 'escape to the basement'. Pulling that book releases a secret door that leads to a secret room downstairs." Dub explained walking over to the bookshelf that held the secret passageway. "It's a secret door; that's why we didn't tell you."

"What, do you guys have a million dollars hidden under there or something? Why's it a secret?" Hammer Bro. asked. Blooper perked up at the mention of such an amount of money that could be hidden under there; he wasn't interested in stealing it, but was concerned if these people were crazy-evil masterminds.

"Nah. We wish it was, but it's just a cool little shelter for us," Bud smirked. "It was built when we first found out that something bad might happen, and if you pull that book out, it'll open up a secret door. I'm surprised your new friend found the right one."

"You like Italian, do you?" Dub asked Blooper. In response, he shrugged. "I write in it almost all the time. The other times I use French, German, and of course, regular English. By the way, I'm Dub. You are…?"

"Blooper." Hammer Bro. answered for the squid. "He can't talk."

"Obviously," Bob muttered. "I'm Bob. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Blooper waved at him merrily. Bud shoved Bob out of the way, beaming.

"I'm Bud! Howzit going?" Bud exclaimed. Blooper shrugged a little, indicating he wasn't perfectly ecstatic, nor completely depressed. In an instant, Dee jumped on top of Bud's head to get the squid's attention.

"The name's Dee. I like food." Blooper nodded slowly, slightly startled by the bomb's dramatic appearance. Hammer Bro. finally held up a hand, stopping all the conversation.

"I hate to be the party crasher here, but what do you seriously think happened to all those guys over there after you ran and hid?" Hammer Bro. questioned. Bob picked up the book on the floor and put it back on the shelf, closing the passageway. They all exited the room and went into the painting room. To everyone's relief, the paintings remained there unharmed.

"I believe that this villain must have stepped in our territory for more minions to kidnap and assemble as his own." Bob said, gazing at the first painting before Jolly Roger Bay. "He's definitely organizing something…" Hammer Bro. narrowed his eyes impatiently.

"In English, that means…?"

"This evil guy took our enemies away so he can use them to fight you two." Dub translated. "Which means this guy's power is increasing by the minute and we're not doing anything about it."

"Well, what about Blooper?" Hammer Bro. asked. Blooper looked up at the four Bob-ombs, waiting to hear what they would determine. "I mean, he can't talk, and I'm not good at reading eyes, sign language, or anything like that."

"After the next two Power Stars, you'll find a solution." Bob said simply. "For now, you'll bring him with you back into the painting and find the Star you stupidly left behind. Go on, it won't wait for you, you know."

Blooper and Hammer Bro. exchanged irresolute looks as they walked to the Jolly Roger Bay painting. Finding a Power Star was hard enough, but it was mainly Hammer Bro.'s fault that they put the Star at risk.

"Okay, here we go," Hammer Bro. lifted Blooper's fish tank up and pushed it inside the painting. The squid's wide eyes grew wider with fear as he was forced inside it; what was this guy thinking??

However, Blooper disappeared inside of it in an instant. Dub took a deep breath, hoping that they weren't too late.

"Be careful, but be quick." Dub said. "You now hold the world's fate; life or death. Success is your only option, for if you fail, you—"

"Okay, whatever." Hammer Bro. grumbled, climbing into the picture and starting his great fall down to the sandy ground. Dub groaned in defeat, kicking up some dust on the ground.

"I wanted to start a big monologue…I was writing that one in the basement…"

"Don't worry, Dub, you'll get your chance," Dee smiled comfortingly. "And if you don't, you can always just burn it in the raging inferno that will bring us to our death if they fail." Dub narrowed his eyes.

"Thanks, Dee. You're a load of help." Dub said sarcastically.


	8. 7: Revisiting Jolly Roger Bay

_Update! Hooray!_

_Sorry it took a while...writing is hard when you're preparing for school. D: And yes, my school year is starting August 14th and ending May 25th; the day before my birthday. So it'll be a little hard to update every few days. _

_Anyway! Here it is! Enjoy!!_

_-Laz_

* * *

**7-Revisiting Jolly Roger Bay**

Hammer Bro. felt the air rush past him at a dizzying rate. As his eyes watered from the salty air, he shut them tightly and braced for his impact with the shoreline. He knew that Blooper was already there on the ground since his portable fish-tank added a lot of weight to him, but knowing his cowardly personality, he might have rolled back into the ocean by now…

He opened one eye and looked down; the ground was approaching faster than ever. Blooper was looking up at him, eyes wide with fear. He grinned mischievously.

"Mwhahaha. Now's the time to perform a Mario move to make me **Super Hammer Bro.**!!" Hammer Bro. muttered to himself. However, before he could perform a flip in mid-air, he felt millions of grains of sand surrounding his legs and shell. He opened both eyes and saw that he was stuck waist-deep in the gray-ish colored sand.

Groaning and moaning, he struggled to pull himself out, but managed to do so eventually. Blooper wheeled over to him merrily. Hammer Bro. was in relief to see that he was okay.

"Sorry I shoved you down here. You're kinda heavy for a squid…" Hammer Bro. shrugged. Blooper narrowed his eyes and pointed at the swaying pirate ship on the horizon. Fog hung over the water eerily now, and the two felt the same sense as they did in Bob-omb Battlefield; there was something wrong here.

But as Hammer Bro. followed to where Blooper was pointing, he could see a small shining something floating in the air above the large ship. He beamed. It had to be a Power Star.

"Dude, nice! This'll be a cinch!" Hammer Bro. said. "The only question is, how do we get over there?"

The Koopa gazed at the shoreline before them and realized that there was the boat that he rescued Blooper in. He ran towards the boat, Blooper following. Hammer Bro. lifted Blooper in and began to shove the boat off shore. Just as the boat began to make full contact with the water, Hammer Bro. leaped in and made his way to the front.

The oar was missing, however.

"What happened to my oar?? Didn't I have one?" Hammer Bro. thought aloud, searching all around him for it. Blooper leaned over his tank and looked down, not seeing any trace of it. Sighing, Hammer Bro. drew another one and began to row across the blue water.

"This place is full of thieves, I tell ya," Hammer Bro. mumbled. After that quiet comment, silence took over, leaving the duo to think of their own worries or needs.

Of course, Hammer Bro. was constantly thinking of how many Power Stars he'd have to gather, who the other two teammates were, and how long this'd take. By now, Kamek was probably screwing things up back home.

That name made his hands tighten on the oar. What a jerk he was! What had he done to make Kamek despise him so much? Was it his looks? His talent? Or was it just he himself?

However, Blooper was focusing on nothing but the water. It wasn't much to think about, but really, what made it stay all…wet? Why was it smooth and pretty instead of painful and gross?

He looked down into the bay's waters. It was crystal clear, but what he realized was something worth to think about. There was no presence of life under the water. No clams, shells, fish, or Sushi.

As the boat drifted over the deepest part of Jolly Roger bay, Blooper stuck his head in the water to get a better view. Though he had always feared it, Blooper needed to see if the Unagi was here.

And it wasn't as far as he could tell.

Blooper pulled his head back up out of the water. Hammer Bro. turned around and gave him a confused look.

"You almost tipped the boat over! What were you thinking??" Hammer Bro. cried. Blooper held up two of his tentacles and preformed a slicing motion at his throat, trying to tell that he could not see a single creature.

"Ugh, it's okay, I forgive you…" Hammer Bro. narrowed his eyes and turned around. Blooper slapped his forehead. The boat suddenly nudged against the pirate ship and came to a stop. Hammer Bro. put down the oar as he examined the side of the boat. It was coated with algae and sea salt, but nothing looked unstable about it. It'd be fairly easy to get up if Blooper didn't have a fish tank.

Then, the boat jerked suddenly, and Hammer Bro. yelped out.

"Blooper! Quit looking in the water; you're gonna turn us over like a grilled cheese sandwich!!" Hammer Bro. growled, turning around and shooting a glare at Blooper. The squid returned the look with confused eyes; he didn't do anything.

"Yeah, well, don't—" Hammer Bro. started, but a more violent jerk interrupted his thought. The hammer-savvy Koopa fell on his tail after a large wave rocked the small boat. There was a still silence in the air afterwards.

"That was really creepy…" Hammer Bro. gulped, looking over the edge and into the water. Just as his heart started to beat at a normal pace, something big and maroon-colored broke the surface of the water and snapped the boat in half like a toothpick.

Hammer Bro. and Blooper flew into the air upon impact, screaming bloody murder and waving their arms in the air. Hammer Bro. grabbed Blooper and threw him towards the ship, in which he landed smoothly on the deck and rolled around helplessly as the boat swayed back and forth.

Now was the problem of Hammer Bro.; he was falling close to the water now, and he needed to act fast since he couldn't swim.

Taking hold of the pencil, he drew a grappling hook and tossed it to the edge of the pirate boat with a rope following it. The hook caught hold of the edge and stopped Hammer Bro.'s fall. He climbed the rope to the top and scrambled over the edge, panting heavily and gripping the pencil as if he were about to die.

"Okay, that was even more creepy…" Hammer Bro. muttered. Blooper pointed up and bounced in his tank with joy. Hammer Bro. looked up and in front of him, and he saw the Power Star up in the sky majestically.

"But _that's _not. That's the best sight in a long time; let's get it and—"

A loud and monstrous roar rang out and split the air as a maroon eel emerged from the salty water. Hammer Bro. cried out, and Blooper did, too—if he had a voice or mouth to cry out with.

"It's the Unagi! Holy cow, grab the Star and run for it!" Hammer Bro. shrieked as the Unagi dove back into the water. Blooper's eyes must have deceived him; he thought no one was present under the water!

Nevertheless, Hammer Bro. and Blooper ran across the ship deck, desperate to get to the Star as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Hammer Bro. caught a glimpse of a small box with a skull and crossbones painted on the side. He recognized it instantaneously as the box that hacked a lot of damage out of Mario in the game. He took no threat by it at first.

But then, it began to slide towards him.

"This is stupid."

And it slammed him in the stomach, knocking him back towards the front of the boat; exactly opposite of where he needed to be. He fell back on his tail, trying to grasp what just happened in such a short time.

"So _that's _why Mario gets basically killed by this box…" Hammer Bro. said, standing up. "It slams into you! What's in this thing, anyway?" Hammer Bro. grabbed the box and pried it open with one of his hammers, revealing a stack of miscellaneous shells, rocks, and rotted seaweed.

"Wow." Hammer Bro. muttered sarcastically, kicking the box off the deck.

In an instant, the ship was crashed against by the Unagi, only making things worse by adding pressure to the two heroes.

As Hammer Bro. ran back to the front of the ship, Blooper did his best to reach for the ledge that the Star was above. Hammer Bro. ran to his side and took out the magic pencil, ready to draw something that would lift them both up with ease.

"We're gonna need a ramp for you because of your wheels. Lemme—"

_**Ker-crack!**_

A giant and sickening cracking noise stopped them both in their thoughts. They turned around and saw the boat slowly being snapped in half; those crashes that the Unagi was bringing must have done enough damage to the old ship to break it in to two, and all it needed was a few more shoves.

"'86 that. I'll just throw you up there; grab the Star, come back down here, and I'll draw us the door outta here!" Hammer Bro. swiped Blooper and threw him up into the air. The squid snagged the Star and landed next to Hammer Bro., who began to sketch out a door.

But just as he finished, the ship suddenly gave; it was now in two pieces, and it was sinking fast.

Blooper started to roll down the angled deck helplessly, reaching out for anything to grab onto. He eventually held onto Hammer Bro.'s ankle while he held onto his tank (that had the Star safely inside now.) Hammer Bro. clenched tightly onto the pencil and the newly-formed door as he tried to think of a plan.

"Blooper! I'm going to open the door, and when I do, I'm gonna crawl through it! Hold onto my leg the best that you can without cutting off any circulation!" Hammer Bro. yelled. He felt the grip tighten slightly on his foot as he twisted the knob to the door. He placed his hand inside it and pulled himself inside, dragging Blooper along with him.

As soon as he was safe inside, he turned around and helped Blooper up. Hammer Bro. slammed the door, panting heavily.

"I don't remember THAT happening in the game…" Hammer Bro. sighed, sinking down to his knees tiredly. "You got the Star, right?"

Blooper nodded and took out the Star from his tank and handed it to the Koopa. Hammer Bro. held it by his thumb and forefinger, making a sour face.

"…Thanks…"

* * *

"Troops are scrambled, sir." Amp beamed. He pulled out the oar that Hammer Bro. was missing. "And lookie what I found!! A big spatula-thing!"

"Perfect; all is according to plan." Amp's boss grinned. He blinked and turned around, trying to make out what Amp was holding in the air. "That's an oar, Amp. Why did you pick up an oar?"

"I don't know; it just looked lonely so I took it."

After a long pause, the evil-doer cleared his throat and crossed his arms. "Hammer Bro. is going to go to Whomp's Fortress next. Little does he know that he's about to go straight to the world of ended-games: the UNDERWHERE!!"

"Hehe, you said 'underwear'," Amp giggled.

"Not THAT 'underwear', you idiot! THE Underwhere!" The villain growled. "But you DID get the strongest of all tyrants to battle Hammer Bro. in Whomp's Fortress, right?"

"Yup. He's all set to go!" Amp smirked. But the word 'strongest' made him pause afterwards. He swallowed. "Wait, whoa, _strongest_? I dunno about that…I thought…"

The villain cackled menacingly, not hearing whatever Amp was mumbling. "Hammer Bro. is gonna get toasted by this guy! How delicious!"

"What's delicious?! I want some!"

"Nothing's delicious; it's a word that evil villains use to basically say 'how awesome'. I don't know who started it, but it's supposed to be a saying that nemesis must say before they die. Or something like that. I really don't have a clue."

Amp blinked vacantly. "So can I still have something that's yummy?"

"Sure. Let's go get cake."

And so the two evil baddies walked out of the dimly-lit room to go eat cake. But what Hammer Bro. would encounter, only Amp knew. But was it the right creature to carry out Hammer Bro.'s demise?


	9. 8: Bob omb's Fairy Wand

_Wow. Okay, this is a little bit awkward...DX _

_-sigh- Okay. So I'm thinking that Draw will be more of a every-once-in-a-while kind of story, but it's not going to be on haitus. I'm really starting in on other things, and with school coming up, I'll have difficulty getting to the computer and such. If anyone has any suggestions for me at all on how to juggle this stuff around, please lemme know. _

_Enough with the depressing stuff!! On with the story, for goodness' sake! Enjoy, guys. _

_-Laz_

* * *

**Chapter 8-Bob-omb's "Fairy Wand"**

Hammer Bro. and Blooper fell face-first onto the floor of the Bob-omb Buddies' fortress as soon as they got there. They were tired, exhausted, annoyed, and hopeless; for they knew that their journey had only begun. The four pink bombs surrounded the two in wonder of what just happened to them.

Bud looked at them with a strange look. "What happened to you?"

"I got stuck in the sand, almost drowned, got squished by a box, and almost became the Unagi's dinner. Why, do you find anything worse than that?" Hammer Bro. complained. Blooper nodded tiredly and let his head fall to the ground.

"You complain a lot, Hammer Bro. Just suck it up and give us the Star so you can find your third teammate." Bob sighed. Hammer Bro. sat up, fuming.

"Fine," Hammer Bro. growled. He tossed the Power Star to Bob, who didn't think to catch it, and fell backwards on impact. Suddenly remembering how this was like the game, Hammer Bro. turned excited at the thought of a new course to go to. "So, where to next? Hazy Maze Cave? Snowman's Land? Or maybe Rainbow Ride?"

"Whomp's Fortress."

"Awesome; Whomp's—wait a second." Hammer Bro. got to his feet and crossed his arms. "Whomp's Fortress? THAT stupid place? That's for babies! It put me to sleep when I played the game!"

"Well, yeah, cuz the Piranha Plants sleep there, too…" Dee smiled, sitting down. "But seriously, you should go find that Star. The quicker you find it, the faster this'll get finished and stuff."

"Which reminds me," Hammer Bro. held up a hand to stop any other conversation. "I meant to ask you guys earlier, but how many of these Power Stars are there?"

"150." Bob responded simply.

"**WHAT?!**" Hammer Bro. exclaimed. Blooper's eyes widened in shock and he dug his face in his two tentacles as if to say, "this can't be happening…"

"Joking, I was joking," Bob laughed. The two heroes narrowed their eyes, clearly not amused. "You two are easy to fool. But seriously, you have thirteen left."

"Thirteen, huh? Better than 150, for sure, but hey, watch your back, Bud, cuz I'll get you with my hammer fists of fury," Hammer Bro. pointed at Bob sharply. Bud cleared his throat.

"I'm Bud, he's Bob," He corrected. Hammer Bro.'s head darted in his direction.

"HEY. I'm watching you." He held up two of his fingers and pointed them at his eyes, then moved them to Bob and Bud's. Blooper jumped inside the painting, and Hammer Bro. backed into it.

Silence filled the room after the two departed into the second painting.

"That was weird." Dub whispered awkwardly.

* * *

Deep inside the Whomp's Fortress painting, a tree stood proudly on soft grass. A strange sound rang out from inside its branches, and the leaves rustled; some even fell. But despite its loudness, the sound came from a small sleeping black bomb. As he shifted in his sleep, he plummeted to the ground and slowly woke up on impact.

"Whoa…wha…" The Bob-omb yawned. Blinking a few times to wake up, the Bob-omb stood up and turned around to see how the fellow creatures there were faring. However, the landscape was completely barren; definitely not the way he left it before he fell asleep.

"Yo, what happened to everyone?" He exclaimed, running around the hills and cliffs, searching for a sight of anyone. Seeing nothing, he walked back near his tree and took an enormous amount of air, preparing himself to scream as loud as he could.

"**SOMEBODY ANSWER ME!!**" The bomb shrieked at the top of his lungs. His scream echoed back to him, hurting his ears a little bit. He gasped in realization. "Oh, no! They must all be getting ice cream in the sky!"

He scampered up a hill and looked up at the crystal blue sky. "Hey! Wait up, guys! I wanna come, too!"

Of course, there was no response. The Bob-omb frowned; his spirit was broken all because of his sleepiness, and now he couldn't get ice cream. However, after glancing back up at the sky, he saw an approaching black dot…no, it was two. Maybe they brought him two ice cream cones instead of one!

He beamed and began to bounce up and down.

"Yay! I didn't believe you guys would leave me out!!" The Bob-omb closed his eyes and waited for the cold treat to hit his face. But after a moment or two, he felt absolutely nothing cold or sweet on him.

"Hey, a local." A semi-impressed voice noticed. The Bob-omb opened his eyes and saw Hammer Bro. and Blooper looking at him with funny faces. He blinked, seeing no ice cream in their hands.

"No, I'm a Bob-omb. And that's my name. Where's the ice cream?"

"Local is your name?" Hammer Bro. asked. Blooper's face turned doubtful.

"Nah. Bob-omb is my name. What's your name, Hammie?"

"Haven't heard THAT one…" Hammer Bro. rolled his eyes. "Hammer Bro.'s my name. Blooper is his. Nice to meet you, I think. You wouldn't happen to know where a Power Star would be, would you? We're kind of in a hurry, and we need to get this thing and head back home."

Bob-omb's brow furrowed into a baffled scowl. "I dunno what that is. Where's the ice cream?"

Hammer Bro. and Blooper exchanged looks. "…We don't have any ice cream…" Hammer Bro. replied. Blooper held up a tentacle as he drew a frozen treat and handed it to the black bomb. Bob-omb licked the ice cream once, grimaced, and kicked it off the hill.

"I hate vanilla…" He growled. Suddenly he stopped and stared at the pencil. Blooper held it away from him, unsure of what he was going to do. "WAIT A SECOND. I know what that thing is—"

Hammer Bro. gasped. "You've got to be joking me. You must be a minion of that evil guy we keep hearing about! Blooper, hide the pencil! I'll take care of this guy."

Blooper gulped and held on tightly to the pencil as commanded. Bob-omb glared at the two with menacing eyes.

"You two have that magical…"

The Koopa pulled out his hammers and raised them up as high as he could to chuck them hard at the bomb. _Prepare to explode until you die. _He thought.

"FAIRY WAND!" Bob-omb cheered. The two nearly fell over; Hammer Bro. froze and dropped his hammers on the ground. "Can I try? I've always wanted to cast a spell with a fairy wand! Alakazam! BOOM! Kama-kama-kamelia!"

Hammer Bro.'s head was struck with an idea. He grinned mischievously and crossed his arms. "Well, we might be able to let you do something with it if you help us look for the Star…"

"The Star? You mean that shiny bright thing up in the sky?"

"Not the sun, stupid." Hammer Bro. mumbled. Bob-omb looked up at the very top of Whomp's (abandoned) Fortress, eying a glowing little something floating there. Blooper looked up with him and his eyes turned excited.

"Is that it? Cuz that's been there for a few days now, and I dunno why…" Bob-omb asked. Hammer Bro. turned around and gazed up at, beaming.

"Looks like it. If you lead us up there, we'll let you try out our—" Blooper suddenly tapped Hammer Bro.'s shoulder, and the Koopa looked down. He saw that Bob-omb was already hundreds of feet away.

"—wand."

"Keep up, fools!!" Bob-omb shouted from afar. Hammer Bro. and Blooper exchanged looks, and quickly sprinted after him.

* * *

"Let's check in on our old friend, Hammer Bro.," The villain cackled. The mystical orb showed a misty picture of Hammer Bro. and Blooper desperately running up a flight of stone stairs and across a bridge. He beamed. "They're running away from the Whomps!! Wonderful!"

His smile faded when he saw Bob-omb in front of them.

"What…what is that…?"

Amp hovered over his boss's shoulder. "Looks like a Bob-omb."

"Where are the Whomps?!" He pulled up a digital map of Whomp's Fortress. Three red dots blinked, indicating Hammer Bro., Blooper, and Bob-omb. But there was nothing else. "AMP!! What did you DO?!"

"I went and sent everyone away except the one you were talking about, just like you said."

"But he's a tiny, wimpy little bomb! I thought I told you to get the strongest and most evil dude in the entire land!! He's not it!"

"…Did you say 'strongest'? I thought you said 'stupidest'…whoops." Amp smiled. The evil-doer stomped his foot.

"Ugh, you gotta be joking me…!!" He complained, rubbing his temples as he felt a headache come on. "Okay, I don't know how much worse this could get…we're only on the third Star, so we have twelve more chances. But what am I going to do?"

Amp blinked. "Well, you could always get them to come here after they go to Cool, Cool Mountain. It's probably not that hard to bring 'em down, right?"

There was a moment of silence. Finally, Amp's counterpart smirked.

"Amp…you are a GENUIS!!" He exclaimed. "We have a few hours to get this place spic and span for our dear guests to arrive! Let's get the broom, mop, and the minions! Onward, Amp, onward!!"

And so, the two evil-doers pranced out of the room, eager to ready the forces for an unsuspecting Hammer Bro., Blooper, and Bob-omb. Would it be enough, though? Only time would tell.

* * *

"Grr…gah…nerr…" Hammer Bro. grunted as he climbed up off an elevator and onto the base of the fortress. Blooper decided to stay at the bottom, as he was afraid of heights, but Bob-omb was more than eager to go with the Koopa.

"So, can I try now?" Bob-omb pleaded. Hammer Bro. clenched a fist; the bomb had been bugging him and bugging him about trying out the pencil all the way on the journey up to the top of the land.

"No, for the last time. You have to get me the Star before you do anything," Hammer Bro. growled, standing up. His neck craned up as he analyzed the fortress. "Geez. It sure is tall…"

"Psh'yeah!" Bob-omb smirked. "Everyone wants to keep this thing untatible…inatan…untan…"

"Unattainable?" Hammer Bro. corrected.

"Gesundheit."

The hammer-savvy hero tried to ignore the last comment as he walked forward to examine the building more closely; there were moving platforms on the side that spiraled upward the ivory tower like a staircase.

"Okay, let's get started," He sighed.

"Oh, wait a sec!" Bob-omb cried as Hammer Bro. lifted himself up onto the first platform. Just as the Koopa turned his head, an explosion rang out. "Whoa, crud! Bullet Bill on the loose!"

"Stop acting so dumb!! Where is the—" Hammer Bro. turned around and put his hands on his hips, clearly annoyed. He glanced down towards the right and gasped; a large bullet was rocketing at a fast pace towards Bob-omb.

"Hey, watch out there!" Hammer Bro. yelped as he dove for the black bomb and grabbed him. He started to dash up the platforms as quickly as he could, holding Bob-omb above his head all the way.

"Holy crackers!" Bob-omb cried. "You run fast!"

"Yeah, I know, but don't say that!!" Hammer Bro. panted.

"Don't say what?"

"'Holy crackers'!" Hammer Bro. groaned. Bob-omb turned around and his eyes widened.

"H-hey, Hammie, we got company!! Bullet Bill at six o'clock!" Bob-omb shouted. Hammer Bro. winced; he was getting tired, but there were only a few more platforms left. He pushed himself as hard as he could.

However, he paused and looked back at the bomb cautiously.

"Wait a second; you explode, don't you…?" Hammer Bro. swallowed. Bob-omb laughed like an insane maniac.

"I don't explode or combust, man, that's for squares! And I'm not a square, either; I'm a sphere!" Bob-omb assured. Hammer Bro. looked over his shoulder to see if the Bullet Bill was still chasing after him. It still was, fast as ever.

"I can't tell if that is good or bad," He mumbled. "We're gonna need another plan to get this thing away from us. Okay, Bob-omb, reach into my pocket and pull out the pencil. Draw a brick wall or something to make that stupid thing go away!!"

Bob-omb's eyes shone with admiration. "I get to use the fairy wand now?!" He paused for a moment. "…I didn't know Koopas had pockets. Did anyone out there notice that?"

"Yeah, yeah, just hurry!" Hammer Bro. growled. Bob-omb reached into his pocket and withdrew the large magic pencil. Suddenly, Bob-omb found himself in the air, and Hammer Bro. face-flat on the ledge before the last one.

For once, Bob-omb thought quickly and drew a sword about three times his size. He flipped the sword so the blade was going towards the ground, and let himself fall towards the Bullet Bill. The sword penetrated the projectile, and it exploded in a puff of smoke.

Hammer Bro. covered the back of his head.

"Hey, nice reflexes, man!!" He laughed.

"Whoaaa!!" Bob-omb cried faintly. Hammer Bro. looked around, confused as to where he was.

"Where are you, Bob-omb?"

"Up here. He blew me up."

"W-WHAT?!" Hammer Bro. cried. Bob-omb must have been killed by the explosion, and Hammer Bro. had to admit, he would sort of miss the little fella. "You sacrificed your life to save me and the Star?? Why did you do that?!"

"I dunno. But hey, guess what? Stars hurt your eyes, like, really bad." Bob-omb said. "It's real shiny up here."

Tears formed behind Hammer Bro.'s eyes. He eventually broke down crying and couldn't stop.

"I KILLED HIM!! I'M A MANIAC WHO CAN'T BE CONTROLLED!!" He sobbed.

"Hey, man, don't cry, okay? If you cry, I'm gonna cry, and then we'll be flooding the whole place."

"But you're in the sky, and I'm on the ground! It's not a 'we', it's a 'me'!!"

"That's an awesome pun. 'It's not a "we"'—it's not a Wii; 'it's a "me"', like what that Mario guy says! Or you could be really funny and say 'it's a "me"' and make it sound like it's the Mii person. How awesome. I can do this now!"

"I'm sorry, Bob-omb!" Hammer Bro. cried.

"Why?"

"Because I killed you!"

"Killed me? Uh-oh, is that why everyone's gone? It wasn't ice cream, it's because I'm DEAD." Bob-omb gasped. "What a discovery. Here, lemme get down, cuz I wanna hang out with you some more since you must be dead, too."

Hammer Bro. felt an unbearable weight on his back, and he fell over from the ledge to the ground. His fall extended to the level Blooper was on, and he nearly crashed into the little squid. He looked up after a while of pain to see Bob-omb holding the Star and the pencil.

"Bob-omb, you're okay!!" Hammer Bro. beamed.

"I'm okay?! I'm okay!!" Bob-omb laughed. "I'm not dead anymore; cool!"

"Wait...what happened when you stabbed that Bullet Bill?" Hammer Bro. asked. The bomb looked up at the sky, trying to remember.

"I think the explosion sent me flying up to the top of the fortress or something..." Bob-omb trailed off. "I can't quite remember, though."

Hammer Bro. stared blankly at him, very embarrassed that he had sobbed so much over the small sphere. He started to realize that he was becoming very attached to his new teammates, which was surprising to him.

Blooper stared at them both in sheer confusion. Hammer Bro. shook his head at him.

"Long story."

Shrugging, Blooper snatched the pencil from Bob-omb and drew a door, eager to get back to the Bob-omb Buddies' headquarters. Everyone filed through it merrily with the Star in hand.

Just as the threesome shut the door, a group of Pirhana Plants, Thwomps, Whomps, and Goombas came falling from the sky. They all landed in an open field, holding ice cream cones in their hands. After looking pleased, their faces turned confused.

"Bob-omb? Hey, where are you?"

"We brought you chocolate caramel, just like you wanted…"


End file.
